As part of Winona State University’s theme ‘My Global Identity, Our Global Community,’ students and staff were encouraged to submit photos to the Global Identity photo exhibition.

The 40-photograph exhibition is currently ongoing and can be viewed on a platform called Artsteps at the link here https://www.artsteps.com/view/602d8cf65c7bc03c21f0ad10.

Voting commenced on April 2 and the winners for categories of “People’s Choice” and “Best in Show” were decided upon by a panel of faculty and photography expert judges.

Tom Grier, Patrick Lichty, Kay Hannahan and Talan Memmott from the Mass Communications department served as judges.

Additionally, the submissions were judged by Andy Link, online editor and photographer for the Rochester Post Bulletin; Katie Subra, grant writing specialist and theme co-chair; and Vanessa Fernandes-Green, Spanish faculty.

The winners of the Global Identity photo contest are as follows:

For the “Best in Show” category, the four winners were Professor Mingrui Zhang, Computer Science Chair – “Magellanic” – San Pedro de Atacama, Chile; Daniella Bina, Marketing Major – “Third Largest Waterfall in the World” – Gui Zhou, China; Aly Larson, Nursing Major – “Window of the Louvre” – Paris, France; and Kendra Lysne, Business Administration & Marketing Major – “Lisbon is the New Lisbon” – Lisbon, Portugal.

The “People’s Choice” photographers were Daniella Bina, Marketing Major – “Third Largest Waterfall in the World” – Gui Zhou, China; Aly Larson, Nursing Major – “Window of the Louvre” – Paris, France; Alycia Tracey, Nursing Major – “So Much Happiness Around Amsterdam” – Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Kiara VanDenLangenberg, Nursing and Spanish Major – “A Quiet Canal” – Venice, Italy.

Winners in both categories will receive a Winona State University Bookstore gift card.

According to Susan Niedzwiecki-Pham, Director of Study Abroad and theme co-chair, she worked closely with Subra and Grier to brainstorm the idea of a theme-focused photo contest and photo gallery showcasing the submissions.

The ArtSteps software used gives “the feel of a virtual gallery showing,” Niedzwiecki-Pham said.

Niedzwiecki-Pham said the gallery was assembled by Willow Busby, a work-study student in the Study Abroad office. Busby said it took about 20 hours to complete.

When viewing the gallery, users may choose the guided tour features which leads through two “indoor” and one “outdoors” space or opt to peruse the virtual space in their own order.

For Niedzwiecki-Pham, the university theme is meant to prompt reflection.

“In the pictures, there is a variety of both international and local. We felt that would prompt people to be thinking about identity and all the different facets that their identity can have,” Niedzwiecki-Pham said.

Niedzwiecki-Pham also mentioned how different this theme is from years past as everything needed to shift to virtual.

The theme’s last event took place on Thursday, April 8 and was titled Global Connections Conversations.

The conversations had three leaders: Dr. Jennifer Anderson, Associate Professor, Geoscience; Cânté Sütá-Francis Bettelyoun, Pȟežúta Ȟáka, Oglala Lakȟóta-Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Caretaker of Buffalo Star People Indigenous Food Ecosystem, Educator of Indigenous History, Biological and Ecological Knowledge, Co-creator of Buffalo Star People Healing Circles: Transformational Education & Healing for Adult Survivors of Childhood Traumas & Abuses; and Dr. Bruno Borsari, Professor Emeritus, Biology.

It served as a reflection point and an open forum for many of the topics covered in this school’s year theme of global connectedness.

The goal of the final event, according to Niedzwiecki-Pham, was to see connection points on different levels, with regards to how individuals connect with one another and the Earth.

“That’s the neat part; we all have different identities,” Niedzwiecki-Pham said.

Peter Kauphusman, third-year mathematics major, submitted a photo of the local St. Stanislaus Catholic Church.

Kauphusman expressed his inspiration behind the submission.

“Growing up in Winona, I’ve found my favorite unknown locations on the bluffs I like to go to and they have some good sights with cool, historical buildings with great architecture,” Kauphusman said.

Kauphusman also said the contrast of the red church against the snowy backdrop was another reason he submitted the photo.

Of the exhibition as a whole, Kauphusman said he was glad to submit work and view others’ submissions.

“It was really interesting to see all the people’s pictures who have taken them both in their respective homes or from studying abroad. I appreciate the university’s attempt to platform the creative efforts of its students,” Kauphusman said.

For those who attended any of the ‘My Global Identity, Our Global Community’ events, a feedback survey is available at the link listed here https://winona.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2bNJx5sA4RQ1R6l.